System and interfaces for providing an interactive system

ABSTRACT

According to other aspects, a real-time system may be provided that is capable of scaling to hundreds of thousands of real-time clients (or more) to conduct a single-program instance in an interactive manner that combines video elements with interactive program elements. To provide such capabilities, a system and client software is provided that allows real-time distribution of video, and scripted rendering of interactive elements in relation to the video. Such systems may include, for example, cluster-based systems that are capable of scaling horizontally based on the number of clients involved in a particular program instance.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Non-Provisional of Provisional (35 U.S.C. §119(e)) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/652,290,filed Apr. 3, 2018, entitled “SYSTEM AND INTERFACES FOR PROVIDING ANINTERACTIVE SYSTEM.” This Application is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/900,488, filed Feb. 20, 2018, entitled“SYSTEM AND INTERFACES FOR PROVIDING AN INTERACTIVE SYSTEM,” which is aNon-Provisional of Provisional (35 U.S.C. § 119(e)) of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 62/630,154, filed Feb. 13, 2018, entitled“SYSTEM AND INTERFACES FOR PROVIDING AN INTERACTIVE SYSTEM,” and U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/630,161, filed Feb. 13, 2018,entitled “SYSTEM AND INTERFACES FOR PROVIDING AN INTERACTIVE SYSTEM,”the entire disclosure of each of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

NOTICE OF MATERIAL SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

Portions of the material in this patent document are subject tocopyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States andof other countries. The owner of the copyright rights has no objectionto the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or thepatent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent andTrademark Office publicly available file or records, but otherwisereserves all copyright rights whatsoever. The copyright owner does nothereby waive any of its rights to have this patent document maintainedin secrecy, including without limitation its rights pursuant to 37C.F.R. § 1.14.

BACKGROUND

There exists many types of interactive games and game formats, alongwith specialized systems to conduct those games between players. Withthe popularity of mobile devices, the use of interactive mobile gameshave risen dramatically. Generally, such games are limited to a fixednumber of players, such as by the player selecting a number of friendsor a game system matching a fixed number players to each other.

SUMMARY

New types of games, game formats and related technology are needed toincrease player interest and to provide compelling content. It isappreciated that in multiplayer environments, performance is an issueand most games suffer from scalability issues which degrade performance.It is appreciated that many game formats are limited to the number ofplayers that can simultaneously play such games. It would beadvantageous to provide a game format that scaled to thousands, and evenhundreds of thousands of participants that can play against each otherin a single game instance in real time. In one such game format,interactive game elements are provided to a mobile device and areactivated for a certain period of time. Participants provide responsesto the these elements, and aggregated feedback is provided to the entirepopulation of game players in real time.

In one such game format, a live format interface is provided within theinterface of a mobile device, and interactive game elements are providedin parallel to the multiple mobile devices and displayed on the mobiledevice displays (either alone or in combination with the live formatwindow). The game itself may include interactive questions or othertypes of games where individual players provide responses within aprescribed time period. According to one aspect, the nature of theprescribed time period is such that a player will not be permitted toresearch an answer to the question from outside sources. The prescribedtime period may be tracked at a central location, and responses fromclients received within the prescribed time period may be evaluated.Responses received outside of the time period may cause the player to beeliminated. Further, incorrect responses may be eliminated, andinformation indicating the people who proceed to the next round (e.g.,in an aggregated format derived from all of the mobile devicesparticipating in the game) may be displayed to all of the participatingusers. Eliminated users may be permitted to continue observing the gameuntil the game concludes.

The questions may be provided serially to the population of players insuccessive rounds until a final round where one or more winners aredetermined. Winners may be provided a prize (e.g., money) that may besplit among the one or more winners. Games may be provided at presettimes and/or limited number of times, increasing the number ofaggregated players. In an optional game format, players are permittedadditional guesses within the game responsive to referrals of the gameto other potential players. For instance, responsive to selecting acontrol to invite another player, and that player joining responsive tothat invitation, the player that provided the invite may be permitted tosurvive one or more rounds.

In one particular game format, the game may be presented in a game showformat, including an announcer. In this format, a live video feed istransmitted in parallel in real time to the multiple mobile devices.Interactive game elements are transmitted also in real time to themultiple mobile devices. Such interactive game elements may be displayedalong with the live video feed within the interface of each of themobile devices. Sets of interactive game elements may be displayed inpredefined sequences during a live broadcast of the interactive program(e.g., a game show or other type of game). As discussed above, multiplechoice questions may be presented within a number of rounds, and playersmay be successively eliminated. Other types of game formats may beprovided. In general, an architecture is provided for conducting amassive multilevel elimination game.

According to other aspects, a real-time system may be provided that iscapable of scaling to hundreds of thousands of real-time clients (ormore) to conduct a single-game instance in an interactive manner thatcombines video elements with interactive game elements. To provide suchcapabilities, a system and client software is provided that allowsreal-time distribution of video, and scripted rendering of interactiveelements in relation to the video. Such systems may include, forexample, cluster-based systems that are capable of scaling horizontallybased on the number of clients involved in a particular game instance.

In a specific implementation of a client user interface, a component isprovided that collects and aggregates multiple responses received fromthe multitude of client devices and provides results that are displayedto each of the client devices in real time. For instance, there may bereal-time counter elements that are displayed to the user that recordthe number of responses, and the results are determined through theaggregated responses.

In another implementation of a client user interface, groups of usersare permitted to review responses provided by other client devices inreal time. For instance, one particular user may identify that anotheruser is allowed to see his/her response in real time. The other user,may, according to another implementation, may similarly permit the firstuser to access their real time responses. As real-time responses arecollected, the user while playing the interactive game is permitted tosee the logged responses of other users in their permissions list.According to one embodiment, both users must selectively control theaccess to the other user for both users to view the responses. If theusers permit each of the other users in the group to review theresponses in real time, a server may use a publish and subscribe modelto update other members devices within the group as the users make theirselections in real time.

According to some aspects, an interface of a mobile device is providedcomprising a first display area adapted to display real-time videoassociated with a single instance of an interactive program, a seconddisplay area adapted to display an interactive element associated withthe single instance of the interactive program, wherein the interactiveelement, when selected within a predetermined time limit, causes themobile device to transmit a response of a user to an engine executingthe single instance of the interactive program, and a third display areaincluding at least one indicator that displays, in real time, responsesof one or more other users participating in the single instance of theinteractive program, wherein the one or more other users have permittedthe display of their responses to the user within the interface.

According to some embodiments, the interface further comprises a fourthdisplay area including at least one indicator that displays, in realtime, aggregated responses of multiple users participating in the singleinstance of the interactive program, the aggregated responses includingthe transmitted response.

According to some embodiments, the first and second display areas aredisplayed concurrently within a single interface.

According to some embodiments, the second display area is adapted todisplay a plurality of interactive elements in multiple rounds of theinteractive program, the plurality of rounds being associated with thesingle instance of the interactive program.

According to some embodiments, the interface further comprises a fourthdisplay area including an indicator that identifies a counter ofmultiple users participating in the single instance of the interactiveprogram.

According to some embodiments, the third display area including the atleast one indicator that displays, in real time, responses of the one ormore other users participating in the single instance of the interactiveprogram, displays icons within an interactive program element.

According to some embodiments, the interface further comprises a fourthdisplay area including at least one indicator that displays, in realtime, a graphical representation of the aggregated responses of themultiple users participating in the single instance of the interactiveprogram.

According to some embodiments, the real-time video associated with thesingle instance of the interactive program includes live video capturedand streamed in real time. According to some embodiments, the live videoincludes a presentation of a live program including a program host.

According to some embodiments, the second display area is adapted todisplay a counter that indicates, to the user, a remaining timepermitted for the user to activate the interactive element associatedwith the single instance of the interactive program.

According to some embodiments, the third display area including the atleast one indicator that displays, in real time, responses of the one ormore other users participating in the single instance of the interactiveprogram, displays icons of other users within an interactive programelement that selected the interactive program element prior to theexpiration of the remaining time.

According to another aspect, a multi-round elimination trivia game isprovided that permits a cash prize to be distributed to users within thegame application upon conclusion of the game. This cash prize may besplit among users, and the proceeds may be automatically transferred toan account of the user's choosing. The account may be, for example, aPayPal account or other type of immediate payment transfer system.

According to another aspect, an architecture is provided that provides areal-time video stream along with asynchronous messages that control thegame application. In one implementation, mobile devices operated byusers subscribe to a game instance, and thereafter listen for messagesthat include trigger events that deliver updated content. Such contentmay include, for example, new interactive elements, controls thatprovide certain functionality within the interactive game, game results,among other elements. Such elements are transmitted in parallel withvideo stream data that is displayed concurrently within the interfacesof the mobile devices.

According to some aspects, a game interface of a mobile device isprovided comprising a first display area adapted to display real-timevideo associated with a single game instance of an interactive game, asecond display area adapted to display an interactive element associatedwith the single game instance, the interactive element, when selectedwithin a predetermined time limit, causes the mobile device to transmita response to a game engine executing the single game instance of theinteractive game, and a display area including at least one indicatorthat shows, in real time, aggregated responses of multiple game playersparticipating in the single game instance of the interactive game, theaggregated responses including the transmitted response.

According to some embodiments, the first and second display areas aredisplayed concurrently within a single game interface. According to someembodiments, the second display area is adapted to display a pluralityof interactive elements in multiple rounds, the plurality of roundsbeing associated with the single game instance. According to someembodiments, the game interface further comprises a display areaincluding an indicator that identifies a counter of multiple gameplayers participating in the single game instance of the interactivegame.

According to some embodiments, the game interface further comprises ascrollable chat window, the window including a control that permits aplayer to post a chat to a chat log, the chat log being associated withthe single game instance of the interactive game. According to someembodiments, the scrollable chat window is associated with a sequence ofinterfaces associated with the single game instance of the interactivegame. According to some embodiments, the scrollable chat window isdisplayed within a layer in relation to at least one of the first andsecond display areas.

According to some embodiments, the game interface further comprises adisplay area including at least one indicator that shows, in real time,a graphical representation of the aggregated responses of the multiplegame players participating in the single game instance of theinteractive game. According to some embodiments, real-time videoassociated with a single game instance of an interactive game includeslive video captured and streamed in real time. According to someembodiments, the live video includes a presentation of a live gameincluding a game host.

According to some embodiments, if it is determined that a player usingthe game interface is eliminated in any of the plurality of roundsassociated with the single game instance, the game interface is adaptedto permit the player to observe remaining rounds associated with thesingle game instance. According to some embodiments, the live video ispresented among at least one interface of each round of a plurality ofrounds associated with the single game instance.

According to some embodiments, the game interface further comprises aninterface area having an indicator that indicates a countdown of timebefore conducting a first round of a plurality of rounds associated withthe single game instance. According to some embodiments, the gameinterface further comprises an interface indicating, after the pluralityof rounds associated with the single game instance are complete, atleast one winning player.

According to some embodiments, the second display area adapted todisplay a counter that indicates to a player, a remaining time permittedfor the player to activate the interactive element associated with thesingle game instance. According to some embodiments, the interactiveelement associated with the single game instance is received by multiplemobile devices in real time and displayed to multiple players that playthe single interactive game instance. According to some embodiments, anumber of mobile devices receiving the interactive element associatedwith the single game instance in real time exceeds 100,000 mobiledevices. According to some embodiments, the number of mobile devicesreceiving the interactive element associated with the single gameinstance in real time exceeds 1,000,000 mobile devices. According tosome embodiments, the chat log is published to a subscriber user of thechat log using a pubsub-type service.

According to some embodiments, the display area including the at leastone indicator that shows, in real time, the graphical representation ofthe aggregated responses of the multiple game players is displayedsequentially after an expiration of the predetermined time limit.According to some embodiments, the mobile device associated with thesingle game instance is adapted to receive a plurality of issued eventsfrom a multiplayer game server, the events causing interactive contentto be displayed in real time within the game interface, wherein theinteractive content comprises a plurality of game tasks arranged insuccessive levels within the single game instance, and wherein themultiplayer game server is configured to eliminate a trigger ofinteractive content associated with the single game instance on themobile device client responsive to a determination that a playerassociated with the mobile device is eliminated from the single gameinstance. According to some embodiments, the interactive contentcomponent permits the eliminated player to observe a remaining portionof the single game instance.

According to some embodiments, the mobile device is adapted to receive avideo stream comprising live video from a video cluster component,wherein the game interface is adapted to display the video stream withinthe first display area, and wherein the video cluster componentcomprises a plurality of edge server components that replicates thevideo stream to a plurality of connected mobile devices including themobile device. According to some embodiments, wherein the mobile deviceis adapted to selectively connect to at least one of the plurality ofedge server components to receive the video stream comprising the livevideo. According to some embodiments, the at least one of the pluralityof mobile device clients is adapted to select the at least one of theplurality of edge server components responsive to a network testoperation. According to some embodiments, the mobile device is adaptedto switch, in real-time, connection between the plurality of edge servercomponents responsive to the network test operation.

According to some embodiments, the multiplayer game server eliminatesthe player upon a determination that the player did not select aresponse within the predetermined time limit within the game interface.According to some embodiments, the multiplayer game server eliminatesthe player upon a determination that the player did not select a correctresponse to the interactive content within the game interface. Accordingto some embodiments, the mobile device is permitted to receive contentassociated with a remaining portion of the single game instance anddisplay the received content within the game interface, wherein theeliminated player is prohibited from selecting any of the interactivecontent associated with the remaining portion of the single gameinstance. According to some embodiments, the mobile device is configuredto receive, from the multiplayer game server adapted to conduct thesingle game instance, a push notification from the multiplayer gameserver indicating that a new game instance is being conducted, the pushnotification being sent responsive to a determination that the mobiledevice had previously participated in a previous game instance.

According to various aspects, a multiplayer game server is provided thatis capable of distributing live video and interactive data to mobileclients for a singular game instance. In some aspects, a system isprovided comprising a multiplayer game server adapted to conduct asingle game instance associated with a plurality of mobile deviceclients, each one of the plurality of mobile device clients beingoperated by a respective player and each having a respective interactivegame interface, a streaming component adapted to stream real-time videoinformation to a plurality of mobile device clients to be displayedwithin the respective game interface of each of the plurality of mobiledevice clients, and an interactive content component adapted to issueevents to the plurality of mobile device clients associated with thesingle game instance, the events causing interactive content to bedisplayed in real time in each of the respective interactive gameinterfaces.

According to some embodiments, the system further comprises videocapture elements that capture live video in real time to create thestreamed real-time video information which is broadcast in real time anddisplayed within the respective interactive game interfaces. Accordingto some embodiments, each of the mobile device clients includes a websocket interface, through which each of the mobile device clientsreceive events transmitted by the interactive content component.According to some embodiments, the real-time video information isstreamed to the plurality of mobile device clients concurrently withdisplay of interactive content provided by the interactive contentcomponent.

According to some embodiments, the system comprises one or more clustercomponents adapted to scale resources to the single game instanceresponsive to a number of the plurality of mobile device clients.According to some embodiments, the multiplayer game server furthercomprises a timer component, the timer component determining whethereach of the plurality of mobile device clients provides a responsewithin a predetermined amount of time.

According to some embodiments, an interactive content component isadapted to control display of a plurality of interfaces on each of theinteractive game interfaces of each respective ones of the plurality ofmobile device clients. According to some embodiments, the interactivecontent component is adapted to issue an event that causes display of agame task on the interactive game interfaces of each respective ones ofthe plurality of mobile device clients.

According to some embodiments, the game task includes a multiple choicequestion, and the interactive content component is adapted to issue anevent that causes display of a plurality of interactive elements eachassociated with an answer to the multiple choice question. According tosome embodiments, the display of a plurality of interactive elementseach associated with an answer to the multiple choice question isperformed concurrently with display of the real-time video informationwithin the same interface. According to some embodiments, at least oneof mobile device client includes at least one of a cell phone, a tableand a mobile computing device.

According to some embodiments, the live video captured and streamed inreal time includes a presentation of a live game including a game host.According to some embodiments, the system further comprises a sequencingcomponent that determines when interactive content is displayed in realtime in each of the respective interactive game interfaces. According tosome embodiments, the sequencing component is adapted to display ascript to be displayed to a live game host.

According to some aspects, a method is provided, the method comprisingconducting or executing in a memory, by a multiplayer game server, asingle game instance associated with a plurality of mobile deviceclients, each one of the plurality of mobile device clients beingoperated by a respective player and each having a respective interactivegame interface, streaming, by a streaming component, real-time videoinformation to a plurality of mobile device clients to be displayedwithin the respective game interface of each of the plurality of mobiledevice clients, and issuing, by an interactive content component, eventsto the plurality of mobile device clients associated with the singlegame instance, the events causing interactive content to be displayed inreal time in each of the respective interactive game interfaces.

According to some embodiments, the method further comprises capturing,by video capture elements, live video in real time, creating thestreamed real-time video information, broadcasting the streamed videoinformation in real time and displaying the streamed video informationwithin the respective interactive game interfaces. According to someembodiments, the method further comprises receiving, through a websocket interface of the mobile device clients, events transmitted by theinteractive content component.

According to some embodiments, the real-time video information isstreamed to the plurality of mobile device clients concurrently withdisplay of interactive content provided by the interactive contentcomponent. According to some embodiments, the method further comprisesscaling resources, by one or more cluster components, to the single gameinstance responsive to a number of the plurality of mobile deviceclients.

According to some aspects, a non-transitory computer readable medium isprovided, that when executed by a computer system, provides a system.The provided system in some aspects comprises a multiplayer game serveradapted to conduct a single game instance associated with a plurality ofmobile device clients, each one of the plurality of mobile deviceclients being operated by a respective player and each having arespective interactive game interface, a streaming component adapted tostream real-time video information to a plurality of mobile deviceclients to be displayed within the respective game interface of each ofthe plurality of mobile device clients, and an interactive contentcomponent adapted to issue events to the plurality of mobile deviceclients associated with the single game instance, the events causinginteractive content to be displayed in real time in each of therespective interactive game interfaces.

According to some aspects, an improved user interface for a client isprovided that shows interactive elements along with video. According tosome aspects, a game interface of a mobile device is provided comprisinga first display area adapted to display real-time video associated witha single game instance of an interactive game, a second display areaadapted to display an interactive element associated with the singlegame instance, the interactive element, when selected within apredetermined time limit, causes the mobile device to transmit aresponse to a game engine executing the single game instance of theinteractive game, and a display area including at least one indicatorthat shows, in real time, aggregated responses of multiple game playersparticipating in the single game instance of the interactive game, theaggregated responses including the transmitted response.

According to some embodiments, the first and second display areas aredisplayed concurrently within a single game interface. According to someembodiments, the second display area is adapted to display a pluralityof interactive elements in multiple rounds, the plurality of roundsbeing associated with the single game instance. According to someembodiments, the game interface further comprises a display areaincluding an indicator that identifies a counter of multiple gameplayers participating in the single game instance of the interactivegame.

According to some embodiments, the game interface further comprises ascrollable chat window, the window including a control that permits aplayer to post a chat to a chat log, the chat log being associated withthe single game instance of the interactive game. According to someembodiments, the scrollable chat window is associated with a sequence ofinterfaces associated with the single game instance of the interactivegame. According to some embodiments, the scrollable chat window isdisplayed within a layer in relation to at least one of the first andsecond display areas. According to some embodiments, the game interfacefurther comprises a display area including at least one indicator thatshows, in real time, a graphical representation of the aggregatedresponses of the multiple game players participating in the single gameinstance of the interactive game.

According to some embodiments, the real-time video associated with asingle game instance of an interactive game includes live video capturedand streamed in real time. According to some embodiments, the live videoincludes a presentation of a live game including a game host.

According to some embodiments, if it is determined that a player usingthe game interface is eliminated in any of the plurality of roundsassociated with the single game instance, the game interface is adaptedto permit the player to observe remaining rounds associated with thesingle game instance. According to some embodiments, the live video ispresented among at least one interface of each round of a plurality ofrounds associated with the single game instance. According to someembodiments, the game interface further comprises an interface areahaving an indicator that indicates a countdown of time before conductinga first round of a plurality of rounds associated with the single gameinstance. According to some embodiments, the game interface furthercomprises an interface indicating, after the plurality of roundsassociated with the single game instance are complete, at least onewinning player.

According to some embodiments, the second display area is adapted todisplay a counter that indicates to a player, a remaining time permittedfor the player to activate the interactive element associated with thesingle game instance. According to some embodiments, the interactiveelement associated with the single game instance is received by multiplemobile devices in real time and displayed to multiple players that playthe single interactive game instance. According to some embodiments, anumber of mobile devices receiving the interactive element associatedwith the single game instance in real time exceeds 100,000 mobiledevices. According to some embodiments, the number of mobile devicesreceiving the interactive element associated with the single gameinstance in real time exceeds 1,000,000 mobile devices. According tosome embodiments, the chat log is published to a subscriber user of thechat log using a pubsub-type service.

According to some aspects, a new game format is provided that includes anumber of interactive game tasks, whereby players are successivelyeliminated from the game in a survival-type elimination format that isplayed simultaneously by a massive number of players (e.g., 100,000,1,000,000 or more, etc.). According to some aspects, a distributedsystem is provided that enables such a format, the distributed systemcomprising a multiplayer game server adapted to conduct a single gameinstance associated with a plurality of mobile device clients, each ofthe plurality of mobile device clients being operated by a respectiveplayer and each having a respective interactive game interface, and aninteractive content component adapted to issue events to the pluralityof mobile device clients associated with the single game instance, theevents causing interactive content to be displayed in real time in eachof the respective interactive game interfaces, wherein the interactivecontent comprises a plurality of game tasks arranged in successivelevels within the single game instance, and wherein the multiplayer gameserver is configured to eliminate a trigger of interactive contentassociated with the single game instance on a particular one of theplurality of mobile device clients responsive to a determination that aplayer associated with the particular one of the plurality of mobiledevice clients is eliminated from the single game instance.

According to some embodiments, the interactive content component permitsthe eliminated player to observe a remaining portion of the single gameinstance. According to some embodiments, the single game instanceincludes a trivia game arranged in successive levels. According to someembodiments, the system further comprises a component adapted to streamin real time, a video associated with the single game instance of theinteractive game. According to some embodiments, the video includes livevideo captured and streamed in real time.

According to some embodiments, the system further comprises a videocluster component that is adapted to receive a video stream comprisingthe live video and replicating the stream to a plurality of edge servercomponents. According to some embodiments, at least one of the pluralityof mobile device clients is adapted to selectively connect to at leastone of the plurality of edge server components to receive the videostream comprising the live video. According to some embodiments, the atleast one of the plurality of mobile device clients is adapted to selectthe at least one of the plurality of edge server components responsiveto a network test operation. According to some embodiments, the at leastone of the plurality of mobile device clients is adapted to switch, inreal-time, connection between the plurality of edge server componentsresponsive to the network test operation.

According to some embodiments, the live video includes a presentation ofa live game including a game host. According to some embodiments, themultiplayer game server eliminates the player upon a determination thatthe player did not select a response within the predetermined timelimit. According to some embodiments, the multiplayer game servereliminates the player upon a determination that the player did notselect a correct response to the interactive content.

According to some embodiments, the multiplayer game server adapted toconduct a single game instance associated with a plurality of mobiledevice clients is configured to send a push notification to each of agroup of plurality of mobile devices that have previously participatedin a previous game instance that a new game instance is being conducted.According to some embodiments, the system further comprises a componentthat permits a player to suggest at least one trivia question andanswer.

According to some aspects, the system may provide the ability for thegame to last longer (e.g., participate in extra round(s)) based on someaction taken with respect to another player. For instance, if thatplayer refers a new player, the player that is the referring player maybe awarded an extra life that permits that player to survive one or morerounds. To this end, some aspects may relate to a distributed systemcomprising a multiplayer game server adapted to conduct a single gameinstance associated with a plurality of mobile device clients, each ofthe plurality of mobile device clients being operated by a respectiveplayer and each having a respective interactive game interface, aninteractive content component adapted to present a plurality ofinteractive elements in multiple rounds to each of the plurality ofmobile device clients, the plurality of rounds being associated with thesingle game instance, wherein each of the respective players may beeliminated in any one of the multiple rounds, and a component configuredto award at least one player an ability to survive elimination withinany one of the multiple rounds.

According to some embodiments, the interactive elements includes aplurality of game tasks arranged in successive difficulty levels withinthe single game instance.

According to some embodiments, the component configured to award atleast one player an ability to survive elimination within any one of themultiple rounds is adapted to award the ability responsive to the atleast one player referring another user to play the multiplayer game.

Still other aspects, examples, and advantages of these exemplary aspectsand examples, are discussed in detail below. Moreover, it is to beunderstood that both the foregoing information and the followingdetailed description are merely illustrative examples of various aspectsand examples, and are intended to provide an overview or framework forunderstanding the nature and character of the claimed aspects andexamples. Any example disclosed herein may be combined with any otherexample in any manner consistent with at least one of the objects, aims,and needs disclosed herein, and references to “an example,” “someexamples,” “an alternate example,” “various examples,” “one example,”“at least one example,” “this and other examples” or the like are notnecessarily mutually exclusive and are intended to indicate that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the example may be included in at least one example. Theappearances of such terms herein are not necessarily all referring tothe same example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Various aspects of at least one example are discussed below withreference to the accompanying figures, which are not intended to bedrawn to scale. The figures are included to provide an illustration anda further understanding of the various aspects and examples, and areincorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, but are notintended as a definition of the limits of a particular example. Thedrawings, together with the remainder of the specification, serve toexplain principles and operations of the described and claimed aspectsand examples. In the figures, each identical or nearly identicalcomponent that is illustrated in various figures is represented by alike numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may belabeled in every figure. In the figures:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a distributed computer system capable ofimplementing various aspects of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows an example implementation of a system that is capable ofproviding a broadcast of video stream and interactive elements accordingto various embodiments;

FIG. 3 shows an example interface for providing real-time andinteractive data according to some embodiments;

FIG. 4 shows another example interface for providing real-time andinteractive data according to some embodiments;

FIG. 5 shows another example interface for providing real-time andinteractive data according to some embodiments;

FIG. 6 shows one example interface featuring a host along with variousinteractive and display elements according to some embodiments;

FIG. 7 shows another example interface for providing real-time andinteractive data in a multiple choice question format according to someembodiments;

FIG. 8 shows an example user interface for providing results of amultiple choice question format according to some embodiments;

FIG. 9 shows an example user interface that include various indicatorsand counters according to some embodiments;

FIG. 10 shows an example user interface used to present an interactivegame according to various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 11A shows an example user interface that shows an interactive gameelement according to various embodiments;

FIG. 11B shows an example user interface that shows interactive contentposted by other user in real time according to various embodiments;

FIG. 11C shows other user's interactive responses at a conclusion of aquestion according to various embodiments;

FIG. 11D shows an example interface used to manage a group pf permittedusers according to various embodiments;

FIGS. 12A-12C shows example computer-based architectures that may beused to implement various embodiments;

FIG. 13 shows an example sequence of events and communications withinthe distributed system; and

FIGS. 14A-14B show example state diagrams of various game formatsaccording to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to one implementation, a system, architecture and interfacesare provided that are capable of presenting within multiple mobiledevices, real-time interactive content. In some implementations,responses from multiple mobile devices are communicated in real time toa distributed game system which can be compiled and reported back to theplayer population. In addition, game formats are provided where livevideo is presented in addition to interactive elements to create a newand compelling game format in a mobile device environment.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a distributed computer system 100capable of implementing various aspects of the present invention. Inparticular, distributed system 100 includes one or more computer systemsoperated by a user and a game system that is accessed by the computersystem through a communication network (e.g., the Internet). Generally,users may access the distributed system through a client applicationthat is executed on one or more of mobile devices (e.g., mobile devicesA, B, . . . Z (elements 105A, 105B . . . 105Z). Mobile devices may be,for example, a cellular phone, tablet or any other type of mobilecomputer system.

Distributed computer system 100 may include one or more elements thatpermit creation of an interactive production that can be broadcast tothousands of mobile devices concurrently. In particular, system 100includes a director system 103, a teleprompter 102, camera 106, and oneor more computer systems to provide various functions relating toprocessing events within the game, distributing content to users,determining results in transferring winnings to winning users. Accordingto various aspects, such elements may be implemented within acloud-based computer system. However, it should be appreciated that thesystem may be constructed in various ways using various computer systemresources among a number of different computing systems. However,according to various implementations, it is appreciated that scalable,cloud-based computer systems may be utilized to implement a flexible andexpandable game instance that is sized based on the number of concurrentplayers.

Director system 103 may be used to architect and control the sequence ofdistribution of live video and interactive content to each of the mobiledevices. In one implementation, specialized software may be providedthat allows a director or other personnel to arrange interactive contentin such a manner that allows for a production of a “gameshow” type gameformat which is broadcast to mobile devices. The director system mayinclude one or more organizational constructs that define the sequencesby which video and interactive elements are displayed on the mobiledevices. As discussed above, video streams may be distributed to themultiple mobile devices and interactive elements may be periodicallytriggered responsive to a control provided within the production system.In one embodiment, asynchronous event triggers may be sent to mobiledevices to trigger the display of the interactive content within themultiple mobile devices.

Further, director system 103 may also control the production aspectrelating to an announcer/host 101. Announcer/host 101 may be, forexample, a live person within a studio that proctors a particular gameinstance. For example, unlike other types of mobile device game formats,an actual live host (e.g., host 101) may conduct the actual game, and avideo feed associated with that host may be displayed concurrently onmultiple devices that are participating within a particular gameinstance. As discussed above, according to various implementations, thegame format may support hundreds of thousands or more participants whosemobile devices receive a video stream from distributed computer system100.

FIG. 2 shows an example implementation of a system that is capable ofproviding a broadcast of video stream and interactive elements accordingto various embodiments. In particular, a user interface is provided fora director, such as by the director system 103 discussed above withreference to FIG. 1 . As shown in FIG. 2 , a director user interface 200may include one or more organizational constructs including, for aparticular game instance broadcast, a column of questions 201 associatedwith the game instance. Prior to a particular broadcast, one or morequestions may be authored and arranged within user interface 200. Anindication may be provided within the user interface 200 that shows whenparticular questions are triggered.

In another column, any messages associated with a particular questionmay appear within interface 200. For instance, such messages may includeany production information relative to the display of particularquestions. Interface to may also include a column 203 that controls andidentifies what is going to be displayed on a teleprompter 204. Forinstance, according to one mentation, a studio configuration is providedwhereby the host (e.g. host 101) is positioned within a studio setincluding a camera (e.g., camera 106) and any associated lightingequipment, green screens, or other studio elements. The teleprompter 204may be used to deliver the script to be presented by the host accordingto the sequence defined within the director user interface 200. Anactual director may control when elements appear within a teleprompterand when questions are triggered within the interfaces of the mobiledevices.

As discussed, the system may include a game engine 205 which controlsthe sequence of the game, records game state, and triggers distributionof game elements to user devices. One or more video encoding devices maybe used to produce, from a camera input, one or more host video streams206. Such strains may include the original captured video of the host101 along with any backgrounds, effects, or other information to bebroadcast. Game engine 205 may control when and how video stream 207 andany interactive elements 208 are distributed to the mobile devices(e.g., mobile devices 210). According to various aspects, a real-timeinteractive application interface 209 is provided on each of the mobiledevices which allows for concurrent display of video and the interactiveelements in a composite presentation to the user. Unlike previous gameformats, the combination of video stream 207 data and interactiveelements 208 are transmitted to and received by a multitude of mobiledevices and interacted on in real time.

As discussed, various aspects relate to interfaces through which theuser can interact with interactive content system. To this end, usersmay access the interactive content system via the mobile device in realtime, and receive real time feedback among a multitude of concurrentusers. FIG. 3 shows one example interface for providing real-time andinteractive data according to some embodiments.

In particular, FIG. 3 shows a system 300 including a mobile device 304and associated user interface 305 according to various aspects thatcombines information received from a video streamer/media server 301 andinteractive component scheduler 302 which are received via acommunication network 303. As discussed, in various embodiments, videoassociated with a production of a game is transmitted in real time tomobile devices and displayed within an interface (e.g., interface 305).According to one implementation, user interface 305 includes specificarrangements of live format information along with interactivecomponents. For example, FIG. 3 shows a first display area whichincludes, for example, a live format window 306. In window 306, the livevideo stream may be displayed. Also, as discussed previously, the liveformat window may include a video stream of the host (e.g., a videostream of host 101).

In a second display area 307, one or more interactive elements may bedisplayed, including any associated controls. For instance, in seconddisplay area 307 a chat window may be displayed below or on top of thelive format display window 306. In one embodiment, the windows arestructured as layers and certain layers may be opaque and may bepositioned as an overlapping layer on top of the live format displaywindow 306. Further, interface 305 may include a third display area 306which includes one or more indicators relating to a particular gameinstance. For example, it may be useful to display to all users (e.g.and broadcast to all mobile devices) the total number of userssimultaneously connected to the game instance.

FIG. 4 shows another example interface for providing real-time andinteractive data according to some embodiments. In particular, FIG. 4shows a system 400 including a mobile device 404 and associated userinterface 405 according to various aspects that combines informationreceived from a video streamer/media server 401 and interactivecomponent scheduler 402 which are received via a communication network403 similar in function to similarly-named elements of FIG. 3 .According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 , user interface 405 mayhave a different configuration, wherein a first display area which maybe for example a live format window 406, may be displayed in addition toa second display area 407 includes one or more interactive elements. Asdiscussed further below, such interactive elements may be elementsassociated with a game wherein the user of the mobile device may have toprovide feedback which is then transmitted to a game server. The gameserver may process a multitude of responses received by interactions ofusers with the second display area 407. As shown, the live format window406 may be positioned above the second display area 407 in a type ofminimized format. According to one aspect, the interface format shown byway of example in FIG. 3 is followed sequentially in the production by apresentation of a multiple choice question format shown by way ofexample in FIG. 4 . In this manner, the live format of the host isfollowed by an interactive interface having a minimized format of thehost. It should be appreciated that such interfaces may have otherfeatures or elements, and may be presented in different sequences.

FIG. 5 shows another example interface for providing real-time andinteractive data according to some embodiments. In particular, FIG. 5shows a mobile device 500 with user interface 501 that depicts a moredetailed display of interactive game elements (e.g., such as those shownby way of example in FIG. 4 ). In particular, user interface 501 mayinclude an area of the display which includes one or more interactivegame elements 502. In one example game format, a question or other typeof problem is provided and presented to the user within the display ofthe mobile device. As discussed earlier, one particular format includesmultiple-choice questions that are presented in multiple rounds.

To this end, interface 501 may include a display element 503 thatdisplays the question and/or problem to be solved. Further, interactivegame elements 502 may include a number of selections (e.g., selectionsa-C, elements 504-506) that are presented as control elements that canbe selected by a user within the interface of the mobile device. Uponselection of one of these elements, a message may be transmitted fromthe mobile device to the game server which then combines responses intoan aggregated response. The game server may also track an individual'sperformance within the game sequence, such as if the player respondedwith an incorrect answer.

User-interface may also include another display area (e.g., display area507) that is used to provide additional information to the user. Forinstance, display area 507 may include a minimized version of the livevideo feed. In addition, display area 507 may be used to indicatecountdown information that identifies the status of the timer that isused to limit the response time of the player. That is, the player isrequired by the game system to respond within a predetermined amount oftime. Such a countdown may be shown, for example, using a numericindicator, a highlighted circle surrounding the display area 507, orother method (e.g., a sweeping hand displayed as an opaque layer overthe video content). It should be appreciated that any method forcombining the timer with the live video feed information may be used.Also, the timer may be a separate item within the interface and/or maybe combined with any other type of interface element.

FIG. 6 shows one example interface featuring a host along with variousinteractive and display elements according to some embodiments. Inparticular, FIG. 6 shows a mobile device 600 with a live format displayarea 601. Such a life format display area 601 may be combined with otherelements such as a chat display area 602 which shows chat activity fromother players involved within the interactive game instance beingbroadcast. Further, the interface may include any number of indicatorsand/or controls such as counter 603 which displays account of the numberof current simultaneous users within the game. Such a counter may beupdated in real time as users enter or leave the game, and thus such anindication may provide a more compelling game format, as the popularityof a particular game instance is represented in real time as mobiledevices connect to the broadcast of the game instance in real time.

FIG. 7 shows another example interface for providing real-time andinteractive data in a multiple choice question format according to someembodiments. In particular, FIG. 7 shows a mobile device 600 with a liveformat display area 701 and a number of interactive game elementsrepresented within the same interface. Notably, the system may performan interface transition with device 600 from an interface such as thatshown in FIG. 6 to that shown in FIG. 7 , where the live format displayarea is transitioned to a larger area 601 than that of area 701. Moreparticularly, the interface may be transition from a host announcer modeto an interactive game mode and display, while simultaneously displayingthe life format information.

The interface of mobile device 600 may, as shown in FIG. 7 , present oneor more game tasks (e.g. game task/question 705) that the player/userneeds to respond within a predetermined time. Users may select orotherwise interact with one or more interactive game elements 703. Asdiscussed above, the interactive aspects of the game may includemultiple-choice questions wherein users need to select at least oneinteractive game element within a predetermined amount of time.

Optionally, the interface may include a controls 704 that permits theuser to selectively display a comments window (e.g., chat window). Sucha window may be enabled using the swipe operation on a portion of theinterface.

FIG. 8 shows an example user interface for providing results of amultiple choice question format according to some embodiments. Inparticular, FIG. 8 shows a mobile device 600 with a result of a previousinteractive game level associated with a multilevel game. Notably, thesystem may perform in interface transition with device 600 from aninterface such as that shown in FIG. 7 , which accepts a selection of aninteractive game element associated with particular game task, to aninterface such as that shown in FIG. 8 which shows the collectiveresults from multiple mobile device users.

In one implementation, the interface shown in FIG. 8 may include thesame game task/question 705 as shown in FIG. 7 , along with one or moreresult indicators 801 that identify correct and incorrect responses. Forinstance, the more darkly shaded selection “Louisa May Alcott” may beindicated as being the correct answer, whereas the selections “Ann M.Martin” and “Charlotte Bronte” are indicated as being incorrect. FIG. 8may also include a “comments” or chat window that can be activated usinga swipe operation using control 704.

FIG. 9 shows an example user interface that include various indicatorsand counters according to some embodiments. Optionally, in a resultsinterface such as that shown in FIG. 8 , the results interface mayinclude one or more additional indicators and counters to reflectresponses provided by the multitude of users. In particular, mobiledevice 600 may include a results interface screen that shows for each ofthe possible choices of interactive elements, a number of counters thatindicate the number of people that if selected that particularinteractive element. For instance, for counter 902, 251 players haveselected this option. For counter 903, 394 players selected this option,and for counter 904, 1164 players have selected this option. Accordingto one possible game format, players that select incorrect options areeliminated from the game. Also, because responses are collected andanalyzed in real time, it is possible to display to other users anelimination status of the game.

It should be appreciated that the interface can include other types ofindicators, such as, for example, indicators 905-907 that showgraphically along a representation of interactive element, a shadednumber of players that selected this particular interactive element. Inthis way, a more easily discernible display may be provided to theplayer. Although shaded elements are shown by way of example, othertypes of indicators may be used (e.g., colors such as green (correct)and red (incorrect)) may be used.

FIG. 10 shows an example user interface used to present an interactivegame according to various embodiments of the present invention. Inparticular, FIG. 10 shows a mobile device 600 with an introductorydisplay area 1001. Such a display may be shown to multiple users priorto transitioning into the game. That is, the introductory screen may beused as a “waiting area” prior to conducting the game instance. Such aninterface may be useful, for example, for providing entertainment priorto the game. Such entertainment may include, for example, a scrollingchat display area 1002 that displays chat messages sent by other userswaiting within the same game area. Display area 1001 may also includeone or more controls that allow the user to post their own chatinformation within the scrolling chat area 1002. Users may be permittedto selectively scroll through each of the chats to see thechronologically ordered chats received for a particular game instance.The display shown in FIG. 10 may be shown to the users prior to displayof the game including the “live format” information including thehost/announcer presentations associated with a mobile interactive gameshow such as that shown in FIG. 6 . The scrolling chat display area maybe retained between the transitions of the interfaces within the gameshow presentation (or any other type of presentation).

FIG. 11A shows an example user interface that shows an interactive gameelement according to various embodiments. Optionally, the system maypresent a “countdown” interface 1102 which identifies to the multitudeof users that the game is about to begin. For instance, the system maytransition the players from a waiting area screen such as that shown byway of example in FIG. 10 to that of a countdown interface 1102 as shownin FIG. 11 . In one implementation, interface 1102 includes a countdownelement 1103 that indicates to the users the amount of time until thestart of the game broadcast that will be transmitted to the multitude ofmobile devices. Optionally, within the countdown interface 1102, theremay be one or more controls were indicators including, for example,counter 1101 that indicates the number of present players (e.g.,subscribed mobile devices attached to the game instance). Such anindicator may be retained in multiple interfaces and may be used togenerate and retain interest within the game.

FIG. 11B shows an example user interface that shows the variousinteractive game elements according to various embodiments. Optionally,the system may present an interactive game element interface 1110 whichincludes one or more indicators 1111 that indicate possible answers to aparticular question. Notably, the indicators 1111 may also include oneor more indicators 1112 that indicate what other users in the user'sallowed list of users (e.g., a permitted users list) that have allowedthat particular user to view their answers in real time. According toone aspect, the functionality is provided for other users to view aparticular user's answers in real time so that they can collaborate moreeffectively within the interactive interface. The indicators shouldoptimally display log answers in real time in that there is a finiteamount of time by which a user can provide a response. That is, as userslog answers, updates are sent by a server entity to interface 1110 inreal time during a timeout period as reflected by indicator 1113.

FIG. 11C shows another example user interface showing a result interfaceassociated with the interface shown in FIG. 11B after the timeout periodhas expired. In particular, interface 1120 includes indicators 1121 thatshow the answers posted by other users in real time. Furthermore, in analternative embodiment, each of the indicators shows which users on theparticular user's permitted user list answered which questions. In thisway, permitted users within the group may be allowed to share answersand to see others' progress in the game in a more real-time manner. Itis appreciated that because some users may not be within the samelocation, that it may be beneficial to play the multiplayer game as asubgroup of the entire group of users. Because, according to oneembodiment, only permitted users within the group can see each other'sanswers, these users may collaborate to provide a more interesting gameexperience. The architecture may be capable of hosting an unlimitednumber of groups to play the interactive game within real timeconstraints. That is, among the plethora of users, there may be anever-changing number of permitted user lists depending on which usersare connected to a particular game instance.

FIG. 11D shows another example user interface according to variousembodiments that permit the user to you permitted users. In particular,FIG. 11D shows an interface 1130 that lists one or more users that arepermitted to view interactive content in real time from the currentuser. To this end, interface 1130 may include one or more controls(e.g., control 1131) that permits the user to share answers or provideany other type of content to other users in real time. In oneembodiment, interface 1130 includes a friend listing indication 1133which may include a list or other indications of various other usersthat are permitted to give you the real time content of the selecteduser. Further, the interface may also include a listing of other users1134 who may be active at a particular time and/or may be permitted toview the real time content of the selected user, if authorized. In oneembodiment, interface 1130 may be accessed from a main game interfaceupon a swipe selection (e.g., a swipe movement in one or more directionsfrom the main screen interface). Interface 1130 may also include one ormore controls that removes access to the user, authorizes additionalusers, searches a listing of existing users for the purposes of creatinggroups, controlling access to users, and maintaining access lists.Although real-time interactive content such as answers may be sharedamong users, it should be appreciated that other types of user data maybe shared selectively among groups of users such as, for example, otherinputs/outputs such as texts, video, audio feeds, comments, documents,or other types of user input/output.

FIGS. 12A-C show example computer-based architectures that may be usedto implement various embodiments. In particular, a distributed computersystem 1200 may be provided that permits a multitude of users/players tooperate mobile devices to connect to a particular game instance(collectively, user/player/mobile devices). As discussed above,conventional systems cannot typically scale to thousands or evenhundreds of thousands of users for a particular game instance. Accordingto various aspects, a cloud-based expandable infrastructure is providedthat permits expansion necessary to support an arbitrary number ofusers.

Also, according to one aspect, it is desired that there is a low latencywith transmitting information to users as well as receiving interactiveresponses from users. For instance, in a particular example, there maybe a 10 second allowance for a user to respond to a particularinteractive element. In this example, that means that the user shouldreceive the interactive element and responded within a predeterminedamount of time. In one embodiment, a threshold amount of time is set andmaintained on a server instance and if that threshold is exceeded, theuser has not responded within the predetermined amount of time. Forinstance, the threshold time may be, for example, 13 seconds, allowingfor a three (3) second delay or grace period between the transmissionand reception of an interactive element. Depending on theinfrastructure, more or less of a grace period may be used.

As shown in FIG. 12A, according to one implementation, auser/player/mobile device 1201 a communicates to a load balancer 1202Ato access the system. Load balancer 1202A may be for example, thewell-known Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) provided within AWS availablefrom Amazon. Such a load balancer may provide load-balancing servicesbetween mobile devices and application entities executing within thedistributed computer system 1200. In one implementation, mobile devicesmay use socket-based communication to communicate with a game serverentity that provides asynchronous messages that cause various displaysto be triggered in the interfaces of the mobile devices.

Practically, the systems may communicate using a publish and subscribemodel whereby mobile devices subscribe to particular channels of content(e.g., interactive elements, videos, tracks, animations, or othercontent types) and listen for updates to such channels and display themon their respective interfaces. Once subscribed, any messages arecommunicated through the sockets upon which the multiple devices arelistening. In one example implementation, messages may be sent usingHTTP although other protocols may be used.

In one implementation as shown in FIG. 12A, a socket-based cluster maybe used to communicate socket messages to the multitude of mobiledevices. Also, a non-blocking, low latency event loop component may beused to receive and process asynchronous messages from the game server.In one implementation, Node.js 1203 (available commercially from theNode.js Foundation) may be used for asynchronous communication ofmessages to a subscription server. In one implementation, the mobiledevice may subscribe to a particular game instance comprising one ormore channels of content, and may thereafter listen for updates andreceive the channelized content for display in one or more interfaces ofthe client.

In some embodiments as shown by way of example in FIG. 12B, clients arecapable of subscribing to one or more entities within the distributedcomputer system 1200. For purposes of performance, services may bescaled based on the number of concurrent users, and therefore multipleserver instances may be provided to provide such service. Similar toFIG. 12A, system 1200 as shown in FIG. 12B may implement a number ofload balancing entities (e.g., load balancers 1202B, 1202C) for thepurpose of creating socket connections between mobile devices and serverentities. Also, the well-known SocketCluster system 1207 (availablecommercially from SocketCluster.io) may be used to implementhorizontally-scalable client and server communications. Depending on thenumber of concurrent users, the number of entities within the socketcluster 1207 may be expanded. Socket cluster 1207 is responsible forprocessing and providing asynchronous messages to a publish/subscribecluster 1209. Publish/subscribe cluster 1209 may be, for instance,implemented using the well-known pubsub-type cluster-based softwaresystem that functions as message-oriented middleware is availablecommercially from a number of sources including Redis, Google andothers.

Further, system 1200 may also include a REST-based cluster 1208 that iscapable of storing information, communicating to worker cluster 1206that distributes messages to subscribed sockets to mobile devices.System 1200 may also include one or more cache/message brokers 1210 thatorganize communications into channels (e.g., message broker systems suchas the well-known Redis message brokering system) that can be subscribedto by mobile devices. Once subscribed to a channel, mobile devicesreceive these asynchronous messages posted to the channel by otherusers. Such messages may include content that can be displayed in theinterfaces of the mobile devices. In one example implementation,information posted by one user may be distributed in real time to otherusers (e.g., a chat entry). Other types of information (e.g.,interactive element responses, counters that count the number ofplayers, accumulators that total particular responses, etc.) may becalculated by the game server and republished in real time to the mobiledevices, which can display this information in real time on theirdisplays.

Further, system 1200 may also include a video cluster 1212 that isresponsible for distributing video streams to each of the mobile devicesin parallel to the distribution of asynchronous messages via the pubsubserver 1209. The video cluster 1212 may be capable of transmitting videoin any number of formats and resolutions, depending on the capabilitiesof the mobile device client. The video cluster may receive one or morevideo streams from hardware/software associated with the studio (e.g.,studio video hardware/software 1213) associated with a game broadcast.

According to some embodiments, the video cluster 1212 may be capable ofreceiving a video stream from one or more mobile user devices for thepurpose of retransmitting it to other mobile device users. As previouslydiscussed, the system may include a director type role and associatedcomputer system that controls the production of the game. To this end,system 1200 may include an admin system 1205 that permits a directoruser to the distribution of various channels of content. In one example,the admin system 1205 may be capable controlling a video input providedby one or more mobile devices and redistribute the provided video streamthrough the video cluster to other mobile devices. It should beappreciated that other system architectures and elements may be usedeither in place of or in addition to the architectures and elementsdescribed here.

FIG. 12C shows another example architecture that may be used todistribute video information to multiple end user devices within adistributed computer system (e.g., system 1200). For instance, as shownin FIG. 12C, a distributed computer system 1200 may include a videocluster component 1212 that is configured to receive one or more videostreams from hardware/software associated with the studio (e.g., studiovideo hardware/software 1213) associated with a game broadcast. Cluster1215 may include a replication component (e.g., component 1216) thatreceives the stream and replicates it to a number of edge servers (e.g.,edge servers 1214). In some embodiments, the video cluster 1212 createsmultiple low latency renditions from a single source stream andreplicates that to thousands of edge servers in the video cluster 1212.

In some embodiments, mobile device clients (e.g., mobile devices1217A-1217Z) may be capable of selecting an edge server from which theywill receive a video stream. In one implementation, a client selects anappropriate edge server responsive to a network test operation. Forinstance, the client selects a stream, and performs a network test inwhich the client downloads a video file multiple times. Downloadstatistics regarding the stream such as dropped frames, slow loading,rebuffering, dropped connections and/or other parameters may be used toqualify the performance of a client/edge server connection. If it isdetermined that the statistics drop below one or more quality measures,the client may connect to an alternative edge server, where the networktest is repeated. Multiple edge server connections may be evaluateduntil an quality connection is identified. During the broadcast of aparticular game instance, the clients may be configured to monitorstream quality and may seamlessly switch stream sources (e.g., edgeservers) responsive to varying conditions. In some embodiments, edgeservers may be capable of providing various stream formats and qualitylevels, depending on the client and connection capabilities.

FIG. 13 shows an example sequence of events and communications withinthe distributed system. In particular, one or more clients (e.g.,client(s) 1301) may login 1304) to a game server 1302 in order toparticipate within an interactive game session. As discussed above, oneor more clients may subscribe (1305) to a pub/sub server 1303 to receivecertain data associated with a particular channel or channels. Forinstance, an application may listen for events received asynchronouslyassociated with a game instance. Further, a mobile device may subscribeto one or more videos streams associated with an interactive game.

As the game is conducted, there may be one or more channel updates(1306) that may result in asynchronous interactive elements to bedisplayed on one or more the clients (e.g. 1301). One or more of theseclients may provide asynchronous feedback 1307 to the pub/sub server1303. The pub/sub server (or alternatively, the game server) may performone or more calculations association with the asynchronous feedback fromthe multitude of mobile devices. In one example, the system may analyzethe asynchronous feedback 1307 provided by the mobile devices andperformed a population calculation 1308 that shows the results of theasynchronous feedback provided by users. Such information may bepublished to each of the mobile devices that are subscribed to thechannel (1309). In this manner, asynchronous feedback may be receivedand redistributed to mobile devices.

In another example, the game server 1302 may be capable of triggering anevent 1310 which causes a distribution of the event 1311 two themultitude of mobile devices. Such events may include asynchronousmessages to be displayed within an interface, results of counters, whenstatus, or other information to be displayed.

FIG. 14A shows an example state diagram of a game format according tosome embodiments. In particular, FIG. 14A shows a series of games states1400 in which an interactive game may operate according to variousaspects. At state 1401, an introductory screen is displayed, such asthat shown by way of example in FIG. 10 . Responsive to a game startevent 1402, a close introduction state 1403 may occur which causesanother display type to be triggered on the mobile devices. For example,the display shown in FIG. 6 May illustrate a host and provide anintroduction to the interactive game.

Thereafter, the game may be initiated via an event (e.g., trigger 1404)which causes the multilevel game to begin. In one such format, there aremultiple levels (e.g., 2, 3, . . . 10, 11, 12 or more) where interactivedisplay elements are triggered to be displayed on the multitude ofmobile devices. For example, at state 1405 an event is sent to mobiledevices that causes a display of a question (e.g., question number N) onthe multiple mobile devices. A timer (e.g., timer 1406) may beinstantiated by the game server or other entity that determines whenvalid responses may be received from any of the mobile devices. Uponexpiration of the timer the system transitions to game state 1408 wherethe result displays triggered for the identified question. Inparticular, the mobile devices may be triggered to display aggregatedresults for question N. After some period of time, either predeterminedor controlled otherwise by the production director, a change ofinterface may be triggered (e.g., by trigger 1409) back to a hostdiscussion of the results in an introduction to a next question withinthe multilevel game. After the host discussion, a trigger (e.g., 1413)may be sent to display the next question on the multitude of devices(e.g., at state 1405).

While at state 1410, if the question discussed was the final question, atrigger may be sent to display one or more of the winners and possiblyany potential payout at state 1412. Thereafter, the game ends. It shouldbe appreciated that the game may have any number of levels and mayinvolve any number of game tasks and/or game task types. For instance,other games such as board games, puzzles or other game types may be usedin any number of rounds to eliminate subsets of players. Also, it shouldbe appreciated that such game instances may be conducted atpredetermined times to encourage maximum participation users.

FIG. 14B shows an alternative example state diagram of a game formataccording to some embodiments. In particular, FIG. 14B shows a similarseries of games states 1420 that are similar in nature to states 1400 asshown by way of example in FIG. 14B. Notably, the system is capable ofdisplaying friend answers in real time within the interactive content(e.g., within interactive game elements as shown above with respect toFIGS. 11B-11C). That is, as the answers are received in real-time from agroup of permitted users, those answers are shown within the interfaceto the particular user (e.g., at state 1425). In this way, the user ispermitted to view real-time answers from their permitted friends listprior to having to select an answer for themselves. That is, prior tothe expiration of the timer, the user is permitted to see what theirfriends selected which may influence the answer that they provide. Sucha capability allows collaboration among users within the approvedfriends list. When the predetermined timer expires, the aggregatedresults along with the friends answers may be displayed to the userwithin the interface (e.g., at block 1428). As discussed above withrespect to FIG. 14A, similar elements of FIG. 14B may operate similarlyor exactly the same.

The above-described embodiments can be implemented in any of numerousways. For example, the embodiments may be implemented using hardware,software or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, thesoftware code can be executed on any suitable processor or collection ofprocessors, whether provided in a single computer or distributed amongmultiple computers. It should be appreciated that any component orcollection of components that perform the functions described above canbe generically considered as one or more controllers that control theabove-discussed functions. The one or more controllers can beimplemented in numerous ways, such as with dedicated hardware or withone or more processors programmed using microcode or software to performthe functions recited above.

In this respect, it should be appreciated that one implementation of theembodiments of the present invention comprises at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium (e.g., a computermemory, a portable memory, a compact disk, etc.) encoded with a computerprogram (i.e., a plurality of instructions), which, when executed on aprocessor, performs the above-discussed functions of the embodiments ofthe present invention. The computer-readable storage medium can betransportable such that the program stored thereon can be loaded ontoany computer resource to implement the aspects of the present inventiondiscussed herein. In addition, it should be appreciated that thereference to a computer program which, when executed, performs theabove-discussed functions, is not limited to an application programrunning on a host computer. Rather, the term computer program is usedherein in a generic sense to reference any type of computer code (e.g.,software or microcode) that can be employed to program a processor toimplement the above-discussed aspects of the present invention.

Various aspects of the present invention may be used alone, incombination, or in a variety of arrangements not specifically discussedin the embodiments described in the foregoing and are therefore notlimited in their application to the details and arrangement ofcomponents set forth in the foregoing description or illustrated in thedrawings. For example, aspects described in one embodiment may becombined in any manner with aspects described in other embodiments.

Also, embodiments of the invention may be implemented as one or moremethods, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed aspart of the method(s) may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly,embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an orderdifferent than illustrated, which may include performing some actssimultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrativeembodiments.

Use of ordinal terms such as “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., in theclaims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote anypriority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or thetemporal order in which acts of a method are performed. Such terms areused merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certainname from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinalterm).

The phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing”, “involving”, andvariations thereof, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafterand additional items.

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of thisinvention, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications,and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Suchalterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part ofthis disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings areby way of example only.

What is claimed is:
 1. An interface of a mobile device, comprising: afirst display area adapted to display real-time video associated with asingle instance of an interactive program, wherein: the mobile device issubscribed to a channel from a publish and subscribe server, receives,from the publish and subscribe server, the real-time video associatedwith the single instance of the interactive program; receives, for oneor more edge servers, communicating with the publish and subscribeserver, one or more statistics relating to one or more downloads of thereal-time video; and selects at least one of the edge servers from whichto receive the real-time video based on the statistics; a second displayarea adapted to display an interactive element associated with thesingle instance of the interactive program, wherein: the interactiveelement, when selected within a predetermined time limit, causes themobile device to transmit a response of a user to an engine executingthe single instance of the interactive program, and based on a firstupdate to the channel, the mobile device receives, from the publish andsubscribe server, the interactive element associated with the singleinstance of the interactive program, wherein the interactive element isreceived at the mobile device separate from the real-time videoassociated with the single instance of the interactive program; and athird display area including at least one indicator that displays, inreal time, responses of one or more other users participating in thesingle instance of the interactive program, wherein: the one or moreother users have permitted the display of their responses to the userwithin the interface, based on a second update to the channel, themobile device receives, from the publish and subscribe server, theresponses of the one or more other users, the responses of the one ormore other users are received at the mobile device separate from theinteractive element and the real-time video associated with the singleinstance of the interactive program, and the responses of the one ormore other users are displayed to the user in real time and prior to anexpiration of the predetermined time limit for selecting the interactiveelement to transmit the response of the user.
 2. The interface accordingto claim 1, the interface further comprising a fourth display areaincluding at least one indicator that displays, in real time andsubsequent to the expiration of the predetermined time limit, aggregatedresponses of multiple users participating in the single instance of theinteractive program, the aggregated responses including the transmittedresponse.
 3. The interface according to claim 1, wherein the first andsecond display areas are displayed concurrently within a singleinterface.
 4. The interface according to claim 1, wherein the seconddisplay area is adapted to display a plurality of interactive elementsin multiple rounds of the interactive program, the plurality of roundsbeing associated with the single instance of the interactive program. 5.The interface according to claim 1, further comprising a fourth displayarea including an indicator that identifies a counter of multiple usersparticipating in the single instance of the interactive program.
 6. Theinterface according to claim 1, wherein the third display area includingthe at least one indicator that displays, in real time, the responses ofthe one or more other users participating in the single instance of theinteractive program, displays icons within an interactive programelement.
 7. The interface according to claim 1, further comprising afourth display area including at least one indicator that displays, inreal time, a graphical representation of the aggregated responses of themultiple users participating in the single instance of the interactiveprogram.
 8. The interface according to claim 1, wherein the real-timevideo associated with the single instance of the interactive programincludes live video captured and streamed in real time.
 9. The interfaceaccording to claim 8, wherein the live video includes a presentation ofa live program including a program host.
 10. The interface according toclaim 1, wherein the second display area is adapted to display a counterthat indicates, to the user, a remaining time permitted for the user toactivate the interactive element associated with the single instance ofthe interactive program.
 11. The interface according to claim 10,wherein the third display area including the at least one indicator thatdisplays, in real time, responses of the one or more other usersparticipating in the single instance of the interactive program,displays icons of other users within an interactive program element thatselected the interactive program element prior to an expiration of theremaining time.
 12. The interface according to claim 7, wherein: theaggregated responses are transmitted to the publish and subscribe serverfor analysis, based on a third update to the channel, the mobile devicereceives, from the publish and subscribe server, results from theanalysis of the aggregated responses, and the graphical representationof the aggregated responses is generated based on the results.
 13. Theinterface according to claim 12, wherein the results are received at themobile device separate from the interactive element and the real-timevideo associated with the single instance of the interactive program.14. The interface according to claim 1, wherein the interactive elementis received at the mobile device in parallel with the real-time videoassociated with the single instance of the interactive program.
 15. Theinterface according to claim 1, wherein the responses of the one or moreother users are received at the mobile device in parallel with thereal-time video associated with the single instance of the interactiveprogram.
 16. The interface according to claim 1, wherein the mobiledevice selects the publish and subscribe server from a plurality ofservers based on one or more download statistics.
 17. The interfaceaccording to claim 1, wherein a game engine controls distribution of thereal-time video and the interactive element to the mobile device. 18.The interface according to claim 1, wherein the statistics relating tothe one or more downloads of the real-time video comprise one or moreparameters relating to a performance of a connection with at least oneof the edge servers.